On Huffington Post, there his post is unusually personal for Kerry and really does try to generate activists on this.
If you've ever gotten caught up in the conventional wisdom of Washington that says no big change can happen, and politicians will always find the easy way out, please know that today is a reminder of how people power can turn that spin upside down overnight - and I know it because I was there and I saw it happen, and I saw it happen long before I had a vote in the Senate or an office in Washington, and it's why I still believe.
Forty years ago today, twenty million Americans -- fully one-tenth of our country's population at the time -- came together to express the wakeup call that was Earth Day 1970.
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Think about where we were that April: you had no EPA, no laws preventing lead paint from being used in people's homes or on babies' cribs, no one to safeguard our public drinking water -- polluters were even dumping medical waste into oceans. DDT and other pesticides were driving the bald eagle toward extinction. And by 1970, rivers were so dirty and polluted that some actually went up in flames.
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It's motivated me ever since -- knowing that the movement that exploded that day would force President Nixon himself -- a President who spied on me a year later -- to sign into law the EPA and the Clean Water Act and the first wave of legislation that changed the face of the environment. Trust me, I of all people know he didn't do those things because it was a nice thing to do, he did it because people -- not the elected or the connected, just the American people -- gave him no other choice.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kerry/the-power-of-earth-day-in_b_547474.html It has always been amazing how often Senator Kerry has spoken of this activism and that of the 1971 - for those of us in the JK group, it seems he has always returned to this theme in every graduation speech to inspire the kids to be activists.
On Politico, there was a less personal, more analytical op-ed that decimates some Republican talking points:
No matter what conventional wisdom says, this is the year — perhaps our last, best chance — to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation.
The right bill can create good jobs, strengthen our national security and give us cleaner air — all while finally tackling the great challenge of global climate change.
We all understand election-year jitters, difficult legislative schedules, a looming Supreme Court confirmation and Congress’s reputation for avoiding tough choices as November nears. But these are reasons to insist we step up and lead on climate and energy, rather than settle for an energy-only bill.
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If Congress does not address climate change, the administration will use the Environmental Protection Agency to impose new regulations. Imposed rules will not include the job protections and investment incentives that Congress is proposing.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36152.html#ixzz0lq1A4ILuYesterday, I watched the online feed of Teresa Heinz Kerry's conference on environmental toxins and women's health. It is impressive how hard this couple continues to work to try to leave the environment better than they found it.
http://www.womenshealthpittsburgh.org/ (You can look at the program - videos of the speeches will be up (as they are for past years) according to the web site.
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